---
title: "Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/max-oliver-cogburn-jr"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Max Oliver Cogburn Jr.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
- State: North Carolina
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, District Court, W.D. North Carolina, 2011-present
- United States district judge for the Western District of North Carolina, serving since March 11, 2011
- However, in November 2024, he reversed that decision and continued serving as a full-time federal district judge
- 1995–2004: U.S. Magistrate Judge, Western District of North Carolina
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of North Carolina, 1980-1992

### Education

- Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in — J.D. (1976)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in — B.A. (1973)

### Additional information

- Private practice, Asheville, North Carolina, 1976-1980, 1995, 2004-2011
- On May 27, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Cogburn to replace Lacy H. Thornburg.
- Private practice, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1992-1995
- Cogburn was born April 21, 1951, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Date of birth: 1951-01-01
- Birth place: Cambridge, MA

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### civil remote testimony

Scope: courtwide

In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.

Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.

[Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### criminal recording and broadcasting

Scope: courtwide

Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.

Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.

[Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393646)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393646)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393646)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/665/max-oliver-cogburn-jr/)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/665/max-oliver-cogburn-jr/)
- [Wikidata: Max O. Cogburn, Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6795050)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 268 | 10 | 1.3 | 10 |
| 2y | 606 | 127 | 2.7 | 127 |
| 5y | 1240 | 720 | 4.7 | 720 |
| 10y | 2069 | 1544 | 5.8 | 1544 |

Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/


## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
- [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.